If you're in the 13-county Greater Philadelphia region, simply walking outside in your local neighborhood and identifying the trees on your street is helpful! Make sure to bring a notebook and pen to write down the details of the trees you see, so you can add them to the database when you get back home. A camera is not required but is a great way to document tree features (for identifying the tree species later), and you can add your digital photos to the database too! Obviously, to add trees to the database you will need a computer with internet access.

PhillyTreeMap

GOAL

Help calculate environmental impact of region's urban forest.

TASK

Simply add information to the database about trees near you.

Help identify and catalog the trees in Philadelphia's urban forest! PhillyTreeMap is an open-source, web-based map database of trees in the greater 13-county 3-state Philadelphia region. The wiki-style database enables non-profits, government, volunteer organizations, and the general public to collaboratively create an accurate and informative inventory of the trees in their communities. The project was funded by a USDA Small Business Innovation Research Grant and is in support of the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation's 30% tree canopy goal and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's "Plant One Million" campaign. As more trees are added to the database, PhillyTreeMap uses the iTree software from the USDA Forest Service to calculate the environmental impact of the region's urban forest. So get outside and add some trees!